The office as a USP: De Vorm makes it work

We all understand that our relationship with work and the workplace has changed, and in fundamental ways. But beyond those shifts in how we work are larger shifts in why we work and for who. 

The best and brightest now expect a different relationship with their employer. They know they are a finite resource and they have power. They want to work for companies who share their values, who have a commitment to diversity and wellness in the workplace and social and environmental responsibility in the wider world, who have a purpose beyond pure profit. And they are prepared to move job to find exactly the right fit. 

Most also want to be a part of a shared culture, to learn and develop skills. And they want to be in an office, at least some of the time. For companies looking to attract the best and brightest, the office is now a critical USP. Crucially though, that appeal is not about fridges full of beer, beanbags and pool tables. It's not the office as a hangout, the model once favoured by tech giants and wannabe tech giants. This was the office as work-and-play place and the free cookies and table football were payback for punishingly long hours. 

As Dutch office design specialist De Vorm says, time in the office is now driven by intentionality and purpose. When workers do go to the office, they go intentionally, whether that's for a meeting, collaborative brainstorm, training, an interview or to find a quiet space and settle into flow-state productivity. They expect the office to work for them. 

Contemporary office design has to be flexible enough to not just accommodate but celebrate that new reality. But office design is now also crucial in defining brand values and company culture, especially to new recruits or potential hires. And values and culture should be clearly and effectively communicated as soon as people walk through the door.

Established in Arnhem in the Netherlands just over a decade ago, De Vorm creates furniture and fittings for the truly modern office. That means no standardised desks or over-engineered task chairs but the contemporary, customisable, flexible, multi-purpose essentials of the fluid, creative workspace. 

De Vorm has also been committed to sustainable manufacturing from birth, pioneering the use of PET Felt – made using recycled plastic bottles – in furniture design. It now works with local manufacturers to create new moulded PET Felt forms that are durable and beautiful but also more sustainable and affordable. It is also now using recycled ‘circular aluminium’ which is produced locally using renewable energy.

Those sustainability credentials are important. That attention to environmental impact in your office design will speak loudly to potential new recruits. But De Vorm offers clients more than sustainability bragging rights. All De Vorm designs are available in a wide range of colours and materials, custom built in Western Europe and assembled at the company’s new Duiven HQ. This offers clients the chance to customise an office that truly communicates culture, values and brand identity down to the last detail.

In its 2022 Design Forecast, the office design giant Gensler argued: ‘By reimagining the office as a destination rather than an obligation, and by creating a space that embodies company values and culture, companies can attract new hires while inviting existing team members back into an environment that truly prioritises the human experience.’

De Vorm helps clients create that kind of destination workspace – a place where people want to be and want to share, where they feel valued and can do work of value, a place where the culture is positive, clear and expressed by design. With its personalised touch, De Vorm enables the creation of spaces that attract fresh talent and energise that already onboard, and generates a USP and a creative engine room tailored to new ways of working and living.

© Architonic

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